A shot across the bow

The following letter has been circulating widely, apparently, among Raleigh neighborhoods.

Dear Raleigh neighbor,

I'm writing to you because of your involvement in a rezoning case or other neighborhood concern, and I would like your assistance, if you can help.

As a former Planning Commissioner, I am deeply concerned about the current situation at City Hall. The current make-up of the Planning Commission heavily favors development interests, to the extent that even long-time Raleigh residents cannot recall a time when these interests were so dominant.

You, like many others, may have suffered through a long drawn-out review process in front of the Planning Commission in the last couple of years. The Planning Commission seems unwilling to deny almost any development proposal, preferring instead to address even the most incompatible rezoning request by continuing it through a long series of daytime meetings that require citizens to take time off from work and home life to attend meetings at City Hall.

The composition of the Planning Commission, as you know, is critical to the future of our city as it grows. This board reviews and recommends action on rezonings to the City Council, and has final decision-making authority over some other types of permits. The Planning Commission is appointed by the City Council, so the question of who sits at the City Council table is directly related to the composition of the planning board.

We have a problem on the City Council, and the name of the problem is Jessie Taliaferro.

• It was Taliaferro who took the most active role, and was the deciding vote, to defeat a meaningful increase in impact fees. The proposal she helped defeat would have taken the burden of paying for growth OFF the average taxpayer and put it on development, where it belongs. But because of Taliaferro, Raleigh's impact fees still only pay for 25% of the costs of infrastructure for growth. Raleigh taxpayers pick up the other 75% of the tab, or about $4,655 per new house constructed in the city -- that's a subsidy for sprawl that costs Raleigh $21 million a year.


• Working with pro-sprawl county commissioners, Taliaferro engineered the removal of neighborhood-friendly planning commissioner, Erin Kuczmarski, who had just been elected Chair of the Planning Commission in a surprise move that dismayed the pro-development faction of that board.


• Every pro-developer appointment to the Planning Commission in the last two years has occurred with Taliaferro's support. It has been her choice of pro-development representatives to gain spots on the Planning Commission almost exclusively for the last three years.


• Taliaferro has worked behind the scenes to thwart the overwhelming public support for a nature park at Horseshoe Farm, a pristine spot nestled in an isolated bend of the Neuse River and perfect for camping, canoeing, picnicking, and wildlife watching. Instead of serving the clear will of the citizens, Taliaferro has been a prime advocate for hard development of the site with incompatible active recreation (gymnasium and ballfield) facilities.


• Most recently, Taliaferro has been trying to reduce the effectiveness of Citizens Advisory Councils by re-organizing them according to her own goals and failing to effectively fund them. Citizens Advisory Councils (CACs) are currently the only official representation of neighborhood interests at City Hall, and they have been a powerhouse of grass-roots citizen involvement in our community. But developers know that the CACs are often effective in preventing them from having their way with rezonings, so they are pushing to limit their involvement by reducing the staffing and resources that make citizen communication possible.


• Taliaferro has consistently opposed efforts to apply quality development standards -- to ensure that new and infill development is well-designed and appropriate for its setting -- throughout the city. Instead, she has stated that the existing process -- a case-by-case, convulsive approach that is highly susceptible to political influence, gamesmanship, and back-room tactics -- is adequate to protect Raleigh neighborhoods.


• Why is Taliaferro the developers' go-to gal on City Council? The biggest source of Taliaferro's campaign contributions is from the development and real estate interests that have a stake in keeping City Hall pro-sprawl and limiting the ability of neighborhoods to protect themselves from incompatible development.

Needless to say, I strongly disagree with Taliaferro on these issues. I've been hoping for a long time that there would be a challenger coming forward to re-claim this crucial seat at the table, on behalf of Raleigh neighborhoods and ordinary citizens.

Fortunately, my hopes have been realized. A challenger has come forward to help Raleigh neighborhoods and citizens reclaim their rights at City Hall.

That person is Rodger Koopman, and I strongly support him for District B councilor.

Rodger is an Air Force combat vet, a small business owner, teacher, coach, and civic leader. He stands for fiscal responsibility and open government, where citizens are involved and in charge. You can visit http://www.rodgerkoopman.com for more about Rodger.

But the best way to get to know Rodger is to meet him yourself. I hope you will join me at his campaign kickoff on Wednesday, August 29, at the home of Esther Hall and Brad Miller. I've attached the invitation below.

I hope that you will support Rodger Koopman with your votes on October 9 (if you live in District B), with your time, your support, and yes, with your donations. Not only the citizens of District B, but those of us who live all over Raleigh will benefit from his presence on City Council, as citizens take back our power from Big Real Estate.

Yours for a better Raleigh,

Betsy Kane
Former member, Raleigh Planning Commission

P.S. If you are wanting a fuller explanation of what has happened on City Council and the Planning Commission, I urge you to consult the website www.belowthebeltline.org . Having myself spent over 600 hours at City Hall over the last three years, I can vouch for the accuracy of what you will read on those pages.